A Catalan wish for our family and friends -

“menja bé, caga fort i no tinguis por a la mort!”
(Eat well, poop strong and don’t be afraid of death!)

So, yup, you guessed right - the Catalonian’s have a different outlook on Christmas. Lots of people throughout the world celebrate xmas with manger scenes, the three wise men show up, there’s baby Jesus (the reason for the season!), there’s usually a chicken so that the viewer knows that the baby jesus can eat eggs on the 26th.

But the Catalans have added an extra character - the “Caganer”. This adorable little scamp is often tucked away in some corner of the manger where he is not easily noticed. He’s hiding for a good reason. “Caganer” translates from Catalan to English as “pooper”, and that is exactly what our lil’ buddy is doing.

There’s an amazing variety of Caganers for sale at our local xmas market by the Catedral de Barcelona. Most of them are Barca footballers doing their fertilization thing, but you can also get George Bush, the angel Galadrial, even Santa Claus. You truly have not lived until you’ve seen a small plastic figurine of a squatting santa with his breeches down around his knees and a strained look on his tiny plastic face…

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Come and listen to a story
’bout the Snow Rocket
A fast mountaineer,
his skiing, they would mock it.

And then one day
he was racing down the slope,
Towards another skier
who’s safety had no hope.

Nacho that is, ex-ski instructor, ex-snow patrol.

Well the first thing you know,
ol Jason’s in a bind,
Skifolk said “Heeey cuidate!
You’ll hit him from behind!”
But twas too late,
Snow Rocket couldn’t stop,
And when the snow settled,
Nacho began to hop.

On one leg that is, jostled joint, knee high.

“Aw it’s fine, but you owe me a beer,
The day is almost over or so I hear.”
Skifolk said “Frozen slopes, time to flee.”
So they loaded up the car and headed back to sea.

Barcelona, that is. Gaudi, Ramblas, Pickpockets.

Well now’s time to say goodbye
to Jason and all his friends.
And they thank Andorra
fer kindly lettin’ ‘em in.
You’re all invited back again to this locality,
To have a heapin’ helpin’ of their hospitality.

Meetup Hiking Group that is. Ski awhile, don’t forget your bathing suit.

Y’all need it for the hot tub!

Sometimes you don’t know what you are looking at or standing on until after the fact. I knew that I had signed up to go on a hike through La Gorrotxa, but knew little about the this area of Catalunya. It was bound to be a beautiful walk through the woods, but doing it with 31 people trundling through the wilderness is a good way to not see any wildlife or have any quiet time. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
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